The Lost Kings
by ChibiNerd
Summary: Akemi Ren is a high school student with an average life however her life changes when she suddenly is kidnapped in the middle of the street. Not too long after her rescue by the Homra, Ren and her friends are dragged into a world of kings and organizations when they find out that someone is after them and she finds out the truth that she isn't who she really thinks she is.
1. The New Kid

Ren's POV

Lostprophets' "Everyday Combat" wakes me up. Half-opened eyes, I roll over and shut off the alarm set in my cell phone. I stretch and rub my face while sitting up before sliding off of my comfortable bed and walk down the small case of stairs to the living room. I live in a studio apartment that is ten minutes by foot from school and to the stores that I usually go to for clothes, food, and other things. It is pretty small, but it is well-designed and furnished rather nicely plus the rent is super cheap.

My parents died three years ago in an airplane bombing, and I sold the old apartment and my parents' Mercedes to live in this place to save money and for convenience. Without an actual job, I knew that I wouldn't be able to pay the rent there and I had to pay some of the school's tuition on top of that. The leftover money in my parents' accounts, receiving small monthly checks from my relatives, and earning money from my part-time job at the cafe down the street has been my source of income (and survival).

I sweatdrop at the sight on the couch. I'm not sure how he slept through the alarm, especially since he is just below me, but he is face-planted, body stretched out almost like a cat, with the pillows and blanket I gave him last night in the most disarray state possible. Shaking my head, I lean down to shake him awake like a mother. "Jun, wake up or we're going to be late."

"Five more minutes," he grumbles as he rolls away from me. For the next few minutes, I keep shaking him, but he scoots or shoos my hands away. This guy who refuses to wake up isn't my brother or even relative to my family. He's my best friend, Arai Jun. We met in the third year of middle school and our share of dread of the homeroom teacher at that time started our friendship. He started coming over last year when he's bored or doesn't want to be alone in his empty home; his mother died when he was little in a car crash and his father is busy running their family's hospital.

Finally, I hit him with the pillow that was lying on the floor and he groans, curling up in a ball. "Nope, come on. On your feet."

Jun rolls over, facing me, and reaches out with both hands like a child asking to be lifted. Except he isn't a child. He's a five foot ten, seventeen years old highschooler. "Help me up," he says, his voice sounding rough and groggy.

Rolling my eyes, I reach out to help him up, but he suddenly pulls me down beneath him and sits on my waist. I frown. "Seriously?"

"Relax, we still have an hour and a half before school starts. Now, give me my morning kiss," he teases.

I snort. "Please. If you had Kakashi's face, then maybe."

"You're into older men? How scandalous." I grab the pillow that is conveniently near my reach and hit him at the side of his head, but I move it slightly upward at the last second and his hair becomes lopsided. I laugh and he frowns, clearly unamused. "Very funny. Hey, I look like Kakashi now, does that mean I get my morning kiss?"

"No. Now, get off." He pouts but climbs off of me.

While I go wash, Jun makes breakfast as an exchange for letting him stay over. Today's menu is toast smeared with peanut butter, fried eggs, and a glass of orange juice. I finish early and go back upstairs to change clothes and grab my school stuff. By the time I'm climbing back down the stairs, Jun is taking off his shirt revealing his firm six-pack abs. Unlike most girls, seeing him half-naked doesn't affect me, and we don't see each other more than friends so there is that. "I'm going to go on ahead. Don't forget to lock the door," I remind him and he grunts as he pulls on the white collar shirt of the uniform.

I grab my key hanging on the wall by the door, slip my feet into the dress shoes that go along with the uniform, and walk out of the apartment to catch the train. Ashinaka High School is a large academic institute for students from wealthy and prestigious families, but students that pass the rigorous entrance exam from a middle-class family, such as myself, can also get in and have the scholarship to help them pay the fees. Jun has gotten in by the former, thanks to his dad being a big-time local doctor. It's on a remote island off the coast of Shizume City, accessible only by a train that runs from the mainland to the island directly beneath a large bridge.

After I got off the train and scan my PDA to enter the building, I stop by my locker to get my books for the morning sessions and change into my indoor shoes. "Akemi-san." I turn, closing my locker, and Suzuki flashes a peace sign with a nonchalant expression. "Yo."

"Morning, Suzuki-kun," I greet back.

Son of a famous musical actor and top model, that is the first thing that pops up in most people's minds about Suzuki Haru. As though to be expected, he inherited his mom's good looks and his dad's musical talents and personality. On top of that, he is just talented and bad-ass; he is ranked number one in academics, speaks six other languages, cooks well, and is super athletic.

Yes, he has an immense fan club- both girls and guys.

Jun and Suzuki were in the same class in their freshmen year and have been friends since then. Back then, Jun was our mutual friend so we talked to each other a couple times, but it was pretty light and quick. However, this year we were put in the same class and just naturally gotten closer to where we can banter without worrying about the other person's feelings.

We walk to our homeroom. "How was your concert in France on Saturday?"

He shrugs. "Successful, as usual."

"Wow, aren't you so humble."

"Just stating the truth."

"Are you sure that you're not being delusional?" I joke.

He smirks. "Don't worry, my doctor told me my mental health will be fine as long as I keep it in check when I'm around with you and Arai. Speaking of him, where is he?"

I sigh. "He was getting ready when I left. He'll probably be late."

"As usual," Suzuki adds. "The day he arrives on time is the day that I mess up on stage."

"Are you saying that you never mess up?"

"I am called a prodigy for a reason."

I lightly elbow his arm. "Now, you're just being cocky. Hey, what's going on?"

We stop, spotting a huge crowd at the doorway. We glance at each other before pushing our way through the crowd to peek in the classroom, ignoring the annoyed glares and unnecessary comments. Ninety-nine percent of which are directed to me because no one would dare to talk badly to the 'Ouji-sama' of Ashinaka High School unless you were suicidal.

There is someone who is talking to Ito-sensei, our homeroom teacher. He is noticeably built with broad shoulders and tall. His features are sharp and have a foreigner look, probably half-Asian and half-something else. What really stands out is his white hair (probably dyed) and dark crimson (probably colored contact lenses) eyes. Most people would look weird, but he somehow pulls it off nicely like a Kpop idol.

He stretches his arms above his head, letting his untucked shirt ride up and show off his two lowermost abs. One of the girls behind me squeals, and the new kid and Ito-sensei turn to our attention. The girls made their escapes, scattering, in such impressive speed that it looks like Suzuki and I were the only ones checking the new kid out.

"Um, it isn't what it looks like?" I awkwardly explain, feeling my face slightly burn.

"How convincing," Suzuki mumbles underneath his breath, but I hear him and elbow him in the ribs.

"Just come on in," Ito-sensei waves us in with the 'I don't care' look. "This is Sato Xavier. He came in from Canada yesterday. Sato-kun, this is Akemi Ren and Suzuki Haru, two of your new classmates."

The new kid smiles politely. "Hello. You can call me Xavier. I'm not used to the whole last name formality thing." His voice is semi-deep, kind of sexy, extra bonus to his hotness.

Ito-sensei brings our attention back to him. "So, Akemi, can you show him around the school? You have twenty minutes so make it brief." Ito-sensei, you are now my favorite teacher.

Suzuki and I show him around the school of where the library, clubs, gym, and labs are while grabbing ninety-nine percent of the females' attention. Suzuki and Xavier are going to be arguably the hottest guys in the entire school, this will surely be a deadly duo for the females' hearts.

After we finish our quick tour, we start walking back with five minutes to spare. "Were you born in Canada or did you moved from Japan to there?" Suzuki asks.

"The first one. My dad met my mom in Japan and they moved to Canada after they got married and then I was born."

"So, you just moved in yesterday from Canada? That sucks, you must be jet-lagged," I comment.

He shrugs. "My uncle didn't want me to fall behind, especially since I'm in a foreign country."

"Are you living your uncle, I'm guessing?"

Xavier nods. "I came here on my own. My parents like their jobs so they asked my uncle if I can live him while I attend this school."

"Why did you move here, no offense?" Suzuki asks.

"None taken. Ashinaka High School has a well-renowned reputation so my parents thought it would be a good idea for me to attend here. That's all really. My old school was good too, but it is nothing compared to here. "

I thought he was going to be a bit reserved, but he turns out to be pretty laid-back and open. Suzuki and I exchange looks before I turn to Xavier. "Do you want to hang out with us after school? We can show you some places around here."

Xavier smiles. "Yeah, that would be great."

"Alright, let's meet at the entrance," Suzuki says as we walk in our homeroom just as the bell rings.

* * *

I gnaw on my lips as I look up at the clock, I have only five minutes left until school is over. I look back down at my chemistry test with six blank questions left and click my tongue in annoyance. I wish that I have studied a little more, well I did, but my brain right now is having a brainfart. I sigh as I twirl my pencil in my hand on the tips of my fingers then finally my brain clicks and I quickly scribble down the answers just as the bell rings.

I hand in my test and pack my stuff. I go to my locker to put some stuff that I don't need away and change back into the outdoor shoes then scan my PDA to leave the school. After we all gather, including Jun (who turned out to be late this morning. We introduced him to Xavier during lunch, and he agreed to tag along), we take the train to go back to the mainland then walk to downtown and show Xavier some cool places. Jun and Suzuki do most of the talking so I just hang in the back of our mini group.

Behind me, I hear running footsteps. I turn around to see a group of men and, before I can react, one of them grabs me and drags me to a black van that quickly drives up next to them.

I do what any person would have done: scream.


	2. HOMRA

Jun's POV

I stand there in shock for a moment as I watch Ren being dragged by a group of suited men into a black van before snapping out of it and sprint toward the van. Ren manages to kick one in the face, but only to be punched in the gut and she gasps for air. I immediately punch the man that hurt Ren hard in the face then kick him in the groin. The man stumbles back and Haru comes up, tackling him to the ground and holding him down. At that moment, unexpectedly but not unwelcome, Xavier follows behind and helps me to try to pull Ren away from the remaining two men in the van while Ren claws at their faces. It's literally a tug-a-war battle going on.

I spot one of the two men reach for something at his belt with his free hand. Instantly, I lunge forward, but I'm a second too late as the man pulls out the gun, hastily aims, and pulls the trigger.

There's shattering of glass and screams in the background while silence in the van. I let out a shaky breath, the bullet spare my life. Everyone freezes as the man points the gun at Ren and he roughly pulls her in next to him while staring at us. He yells, "Get the fuck out! Now!"

Xavier and I slowly release our grip on the two men and back away from the van.

"Tell your friend to let go of him."

I glance at Haru, who backs away while releasing their comrade. The man unsteadily climbs to his feet and into the van. I see the fear in Ren's dark eyes before the door slides shut and the van drives off. I grit my teeth, cussing, then hear the police and ambulance sirens coming closer to where we are. I look over my shoulder to see a shop with the display window shattered, people surrounding it, and I spot a woman down. The bullet must have hit her, but judging how her chest moves up and down, she's still alive luckily.

"What should we do? Talk to the police?" Haru asks and I nod. What else could we do?

"They can't do anything for your friend." All three of us turn around to see a short teen, about 5 foot 5, a year or two older. He has chestnut-colored hair which stops at his ears and hazel eyes. He wears a hoodie, jeans, and black Nike shoes. In his hand, he's holding a bag of grocery. "You're just digging your own grave if you do that."

"Fuck off, shorty," I snap. I'm frustrated and upset, I let them take away Ren right before my eyes. I know, logically, that I couldn't do anything when a gun is involved. I'm obviously not invincible, but it annoys me to no end. I feel a sharp pain in my shin and I wince then glare at Haru, who returns a sharp gaze of his own.

"Please forgive him," Haru says after I look away, but I notice Xavier staring intently at the shorty.

"By any chance, are you Yatagarasu from HOMRA?" Xavier asks.

"Wait, you're one of the guys that took over our high school last year?" I say, staring at the shorty in disbelief. Last winter, there was a bunch of guys calling themselves HOMRA that took over the school to look for a guy. They pretty much destroyed some of the buildings and kept the students locked in the classrooms for two days. The police finally got in and there was a huge fight. No one knows how it ended, but we were let out and went back to our daily lives weeks later. How the hell is he not in jail?

Yata sighs, scratching the back of his head, he doesn't look happy to be remembered. "Yeah," he confesses, "but, you don't have to worry. We've pretty much disbanded and won't be causing any more trouble."

I guess the police have their eyes on him and the other guys 24/7. "So, what do you mean the police can't help us?" Haru asks.

"They're like us. They have powers so they would crush the police in seconds."

"What about the police that stopped you guys?"

"They're too busy watching us and doing other stupid cases."

"So, can you help us?" Xavier asks.

Yata looks at him as if he grew a second head. "Weren't you listening? I'm under surveillance watch, meaning I'm being stalked by the police so if I do anything that is dangerous or reckless I'll be saying goodbye to the sun forever. Also, my powers are restricted-"

"But, still there," Xavier interrupts and Yata frowns, looking at the white-haired teen suspiciously. "I have a message from the Second King about your missing king, Mikoto Suoh. The Greens have your King."

That seems to be a done deal because before we know it, the teen is leading us to HOMRA base.


	3. King

Ren's POV

 _I'm dragged into a large building...grabbed and restrained...kicking and struggling...a doctor comes up to me with a needle and, without any alcohol applied, quickly sticks the needle in my neck...my body is burning as if I'm dipped into a pool of lava and in pain...my heart is slowing down and my vision goes black._

* * *

I wake up inside a big room; confused, I stand up and examine every inch of it. The room has a circle shape, in its center is a black grand piano and on the ceiling, right above the instrument, is an opening that allows the moonlight to enter. I slowly walk toward the grand piano and try to open its lid, but it's locked. I sigh and look up, staring at the full moon through the ceiling's opening.

"Where the hell am I?"

"Inside your aura."

Surprised, I quickly turn and my eyes follow the direction of the voice has come from and the one who meets my gaze is a young, lanky man with slightly tan skin, red hair, and a green eye (the other eye is covered by an eyepatch). He's wearing a white V-neck with a slim vest, dark jeans, and combat boots. His long arms and legs go along with his tall stature.

"Who are you? And what?"

He smiles which looks friendly and warm at first, but seeing it more closely, it seems to have a cold edge that belies his smile. "Claude. And, to answer your question, this is the source of your power as the Seventh King, but someone has put a restriction to prevent you from having your full powers."

I stare at him, giving him the WTF look. Claude sighs and walks toward me. Standing in-front me, I notice the faint lilac bags underneath his eyes, the defined jawline, and cheekbones, and the scent of vanilla shampoo and peppermint and the warmth of his body roll off from him.

"Your King's Power. Do you know HOMRA?"

I nod. "Yeah. What is HOMRA for real? I hear crazy rumors about them all the time." Ever since witnessing what they can do, our school wonders if they're some super-beings from a secret laboratory that's conducting experiments on people like in the Maximum Ride series...Ok, I seriously need to lay off the books for a while.

"HOMRA is a group of people who use the red aura, the element of fire, and it's led by a 'King,'" he simply explains.

This guy, I sigh, deciding to move on. "OK, but why was I kidnapped?"

"Usually, a King's power can't be passed down by blood. It's randomly given to anyone, however, your family is a special case. The former Seventh King, Ichigen Miwa, was your uncle, right? After he had passed away, it was predicted, according to him, that you would become the next successor as the Seventh King, but, as I mentioned earlier, because of your restriction, the power was given to your parents instead. So, your parents ran an organization called Soulless for awhile until they were killed three years ago by an airplane bombing. After your high school incident, the power, though still locked, has finally come to you, the restriction probably gotten weaker over the years, and your kidnappers must have figured that out and wanted to kidnap you to use your power for something and they probably have someone who can unlock it if they are finally going after you."

That explains the random kidnapping. Suddenly, something clicks in my head and I want to scream. "Could these people...were they the ones who killed my parents?" Claude just nods and I squeeze my hands tightly into fists, my knuckles probably turning white and the nails biting through my skin.

"Yes. Your parents were targeted and killed by a member of the Greens, the same organization that was trying to kidnap you earlier."

I laugh coldly. "Wow, what a sucky way to find out. So, am I going to go some crazy, messed-up adventures like in those fictional books?" I ask and Claude offers a small smile. "So, are you going remove this restriction from me?"

He shakes his head. "I can't do that, but what I can do is take you back to the outside world with a very small portion of your powers released. When you do get back out there, there will be someone there to help you and you need to try to get as much information on the Greens and training as possible."

I nod, "Alright."

He rubs the palms of his hands together, sparks and cinders spiraling up then falling down to the floor like a firework. The air between us begins to shimmer, and I watch the smoke twist and dance, creating ancient-looking symbols, rising from Claude's hands. I want to reach out and touch them, but I hold myself back. Claude slowly raises his hand, palm open towards me, revealing weird symbols crawling around, and I tense up.

"Have you ever done this before?"

"Yeah, a long time ago. I might be a little rusty."

"How reassuring," I grumble underneath my breath and he chuckles.

I feel my body shiver as I see tiny flames curl off of Claude's fingers then puddles in his palm. His right hand is now consumed in fire then he blows it and it dissolves into wisps of smoke; they hang suspended in mid-air then slowly fade away.

"I'll see you soon."

"Wait, what?" Before I could do or say anything, a blast of fire shoots out from his palm and heads toward me. It takes all my willpower to not run away as I squeeze my eyes and wait for the burning sensation to take place...but it never did.


	4. Rescue

Jun's POV

The base turns out to be a bar- a really nice one, in fact- and it's named HOMRA. It's an English pub with a karaoke machine, hard, glass round tables with bar stools, four at each table, scattered on the left while a velvet couch with a marble, low table in front of it on the other side, against the wall and underneath one of the heavily-curtained windows. There's a case of stairs that leads to the second floor next to the bar. Behind the bar table, there's a tall, slim, young man with short blond hair and wearing a pair of black-rimmed sunglasses with purple shades and the typical bartender uniform. Why is he wearing sunglasses inside?

We walk up to him and the short teen- who introduced himself as Yata Misaki- greets the man as he hands over the grocery bag. "Kusanagi-san, I'm back with your stuff."

"Thanks, Yata-chan. Who are they?" The bartender- Kusanagi- has a Kansai accent. Yata quickly goes into details about the kidnapping and the information Xavier have given. Kusanagi frowns at the mention of Xavier knowing about their missing king. What exactly happened at our high school? The bartender nods after Yata finishes. "Did you see any sort of marking on them?"

"While I was wrestling with one of their men, I saw a weird marking on his neck," Haru informs. "It was green and looked some sort of twisted tree."

"Like Insurgent?" Xavier says and everyone stares at him with confused looks. "What? Never heard of the Divergent series?"

He and Ren would be instant best friends, I think and shove down the guilt again.

"Anyway," Kusanagi begins, "those would be the Greens. They're an organization led by the Fifth King. It has been running for a while and they have been causing trouble for their illegal actions that terrorized some areas though most of them were minor and easily covered-up by the government."

"Why would the government help them? Better yet, what are Kings? I know they aren't the medieval times' ones," I say.

"There isn't a lot of information on them, but we know that there are seven kings and they're granted with extraordinary powers through some sort of contract. However, the power isn't limited to themselves, they can give it out to ordinary people as long as they pass the test that varies which started the making of organizations, like us, the HOMRA. Now, referring back to your first question: though they created many problems, they have helped the government and development of this city for the past years. Our technology, economic, and medicine has advanced thanks to them. Without them, we wouldn't have gone this far in such a short period of time."

So, that's how the economy suddenly thrives to become one of the richest and advanced cities in Japan. "Is that why you guys were kept hidden? Because the government doesn't want to be suspected to have help from criminals."

Kusanagi nods. "Ever since the discovery of Kings and Strains which was done in secret, the government wants them to stay hidden from the rest of the world so they put them as organizations with fake background stories to hide them. However, some of them chose to rebel and commit illegal acts which lead to some of the scenes you see on the news and all the government can do is cover them up and deal with them in secret, hoping that the people would see it as terrorist attacks or something and move on." Kusanagi smirks. "However, after pulling our stunt, I guess people won't be seeing that way anymore."

So, the rumors are partly true. HOMRA is pretty much super-beings, minus the secret laboratories and human experiments. I look at the bartender warily, but I don't sense anything dangerous about this guy, he looks normal. "So, are you guys going to help us?"

Kusanagi glances at Yata, who shrugs. "Well, this guy here," Yata points at Xavier, "seems to know something about our King so I guess yeah."

I relax in relief. "So, how are we going to rescue Ren?"

Yata and Kusanagi smile and I feel a shiver go down my spine. I'm glad for their help, but I hope that I would come out unscathed in the end.

* * *

Thanks to Kusanagi's secretive informants, we find that the Greens are hiding at an abandoned building, located about fifteen minutes outside of the city. Haru, Xavier, Kusanagi, Yata, me, and three other ex-HOMRA members are in the rescue operation. We wait until night settles in before heading out. Thankfully, there are heavy-thick trees surrounding the area so people won't see whatever is going to happen and being outside of the city helps too. I don't want to deal with the police after this. Kusanagi splits us up into four teams of two, and I'm paired up with Yata.

Hiding in the nearby bushes, I look over to see the ghostly glow from his PDA reflecting on his face as he formulates a plan, creating a layout of the building and the possible places where Ren might be kept.

"Looks like the entire ground floor is a mess so Akemi-san's probably in one of the upper floors, but we'll have to check the entire area out anyway in case there's some weird power or something. Suzuki and Kusanagi-san can use the entrance on the left side of the building, Bandou and Xavier should go from the back. Dewa and Shohei should probably wait out here in case something goes wrong," he says.

For a second, I thought he was talking to himself until he glances at me, waiting for my answer. I just nod and he goes back to his PDA, sending a group text about the format. After he's done, he stands up and walks into the building as I quietly follow behind. Yata strides forward with silent steps, like a tiger, looking up at the building which is a good five stories high. Seeing the tension in his figure, he's ready for an ambush. I look around, inspecting the desolate area. The entrance hall we are in is barren, only bits and pieces of broken glass and fallen debris blocking our way, but particularly dense rubble peeks out on the connecting halls, preventing passage. Turning towards the left, we made our way down the ragged corridor and up the nearest –stable— staircase.

The second floor is just as run down as the first; Yata ignores it, heading straight for the third. "You sure we shouldn't check around more?" I ask, looking around at the foot of the stairs before I rush to keep up with the shorty.

"We can leave this floor to the others, right now I want to find the bastard behind all of this," Yata states, whipping out his PDA, as we carefully climb upstairs to the third floor. I hear a buzz and peek over Yata's shoulder as a message pops up on his screen from Kusanagi. Yata opens up the text, displaying a bunch of information on the Greens. "So, that is what they are after," he mumbles after a while, skimming through the pages, and the phone nearly cracks in his forceful grip.

"What is it?"

"Apparently, they're forcing the King's power to release. After gathering some information on your friend, Akemi Ren, it became clear of their motive. I'm sorry if I have invaded some privacy, but I needed to know more about your friend since you weren't willing to give me information about her," he says coldly.

I wince at the last statement. "Yeah, sorry about that."

Earlier today, they tried to pry information about her from us, seeing if there's something in her background that could cause the kidnapping, but Haru and I have kept our mouths shut, giving out only the basics. Though I'm thankfully for their help and everything, but after learning about the Kings, I feel that I shouldn't be too open to these people. I guess they're going to get information either way, through us or Kusanagi's informants.

Suddenly, I'm pulled down, sitting in the top section of the stairs. Yata motions to not make any noise and I peek over the last few remaining stairs to see that a few feet away are a bunch of guards, circling around the entire third floor. "Why didn't they put guards on the first floor in the first place, not that I mind?"

Without looking at me, he answers, "To avoid attention, probably. Sure, this place is out of the city and surrounded by trees however it's still near the main road and people can see this place if they travel far enough. Plus, it would be safe to put them on the third floor just in case if someone was to come in, especially the police or Scepter 4, so they could prepare themselves to do whatever."

I nod, makes sense. Yata slowly climbs to the top of the stairs and I see a faint red glow surrounds his body and feel the heat that follows. He tilts his body ever so slightly then flies forward, taking the guards off guard (no pun intended) as he literally beats the crap out of them; flinging them across the room, landing deadly blows on their faces, kicking them at their guts. I could only catch a few moments as he moves around quickly. It ends less than a minute with Yata standing in the center, not breaking a sweat, and men on the ground, unconscious, surrounding him.

I should apologize for saying "Fuck off, shorty" from earlier. I hear hurried footsteps coming up from behind and I spin around, meeting with a pair of dull, golden-brown eyes. Instantly, I throw a punch, but only to be caught and my arm twisted behind my back, smashing my head to the flat side of the stairs, thankfully. I struggle underneath the person's grip until I hear a familiar voice says: "Oh, it's only you."

Hands let the back of my neck and arms go and I sit up to see Haru, Xavier, and the rest of the HOMRA members. "That's a nice way to say sorry after beating his head to the stairs."

"You threw the first punch, and be thankful that I didn't break your arm," Haru retorts.

I sigh as I stand up and walk in, looking around the area. I frown when I realize there's no sound of more back-ups coming. Something feels off.

"I found her."

I run to Yata, who is standing in front of an opened closet and, sure enough, Ren is inside, unconscious. We gently pull her out of there and onto the floor, checking for any injuries. There's none. I feel instant relief, however, seeing the look on Yata's face, my moment of relief vanishes.

My blood runs cold as I hear Yata yell out: "Shit, she's dying!"


	5. Seventh King's Power

Ren's POV

 _It's hot. My body is burning. I couldn't breathe. I open my eyes slightly. I could see the red engulfing flame burning everywhere. I scream, but only end up coughing, desperately gasping and panting for air however what comes into my lungs are smokes and dirt. It's then I realize that I'm burning alive as I look at my melting burning flesh. I could smell the sickening feeling and I scream. I fully open my eyes only to be faced by a face of a burnt woman with dark hair, with blowing and melting eyeballs, scrapped skull and facial skin and rotten flesh._

* * *

My eyes fly open as I sit up, breathing heavily. My vision is blurry, but after a couple of seconds of adjusting, it becomes clear, and I find myself in a hospital room. I'm tucked in a linen-sheeted bed with a nightstand beside it on my left side are on my opposite side are monitors and a computer. An IV tube is pierced into my arm, connected to the heart-rate monitor. Lace curtains are pulled across the windows, blocking the view though I can still hear the ever-present Shizume City, the sounds of traffic coming from outside.

I sigh in relief that it's only a nightmare then glance at the clock, reading 9:46 pm. I lean back on the headboard, closing my eyes. What's with that dream? Maybe it's a side-effect or something when Claude used his power on me. I glance at the clock again; only earlier today, Sato Xavier walked into my life, I'm kidnapped, learn that my parents were part of an organization and assassinated by a member of the Greens, and now I'm the Seventh King.

All within a day.

To me, it definitely feels longer than that. I look at the door, debating whether I should go out or not, but decide against it. I look around once more to see if there's something I could do, like read a magazine or something, but, instead, I find a woman with long dark hair. A pale woman, probably in her thirty judging from her face and she wears a worn-out long sleeved white-brown garment with a long dark skirt. There are black rings circling her eyes and she looks untidy and very sick. And her skin looks very weird, there's a tint of blue in her pale color. She stares at me with those hollowed black eyes.

"Um, who are you?" The woman opens her mouth, but there are no sounds coming out. "What?"

I concrete on hearing and I could hear her voice. It's dry like the rustles of dry leaves and almost inaudible, but I somehow manage to hear her voice. "H-help… son… can't…athe…"

"What? What's son? Whose son? Can't what?"

"My son… dying… can't… breathe."

"Your son? Where is he? Actually, shouldn't you call the nurse?"

"Please...can't...help...3…0…1…"

"Um, 301? Ok, hold on." I guess I'll help. I mean, I couldn't just ignore her….well, actually, I could, but that would be a bit mean.

I climb out of bed then a wave of nausea suddenly washes over me. I stand still for a moment as I feel my skin go cold and blink away the black dots away dancing in my vision. When I try to walk, it comes out wobbly then I feel a tug and turn to the IV tube hanging beside my bed that restrains my arm. I gently take out the IV tube and bring it with me as I walk out the room shakily. When I'm out of the room, I realize I have no idea where the room 301 is.

"Can you lead the way?" I ask the woman as she appears by my side and helps me to there. Her hands are freezing.

Downstairs, to the right, turn left twice, and there is room 301. Ignoring the pain in my head and nausea, I open the room and enter to a rather spacious room with four occupants and beds. There is a patient there on the bed, a boy, and he's convulsing, really badly.

Shit—! I try to walk faster to the bed without passing out. I notice the other patients just stare at the convulsing boy and do nothing about it.

"God damn it! Why didn't all of you do something!? The kid's dying!" I shout angrily.

At this point, my head is killing me. It is buzzing and I grit my teeth as if that will make the pain go away. I pound the calling bell repeatedly to call the nurses and the doctors until I pass out.

* * *

When I wake up the second time, I'm in my own room again, headache and dizziness gone, but this time not alone. There's a teen who looks around my age with chestnut hair and hazel eyes. He's sitting in a chair beside my bed with a manga on his lap and, seeing how many pages he read, he must have been here for a while.

 _"When you do get back out there, there will be someone there to help you and you need to try to get as much information on the Greens and training as possible."_ Is this the guy he's talking about? He probably is since I never seen him before yet he's waiting for me so… "Um, hello?"

The teen looks up from his manga. "So, you're finally awake. How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine," I say awkwardly. I don't know how I should ask him without sounding insane. As I try to think a way to sound casual, I notice a mark on his collarbone that's shaped like a flame. HOMRA. Never mind, don't need to be subtle about it. "You're one of the guys-"

"Yeah, yeah. The ones who took over your school. Geez, I don't need to hear it a thousand times. Look, I'm Yata and I'm guessing you pretty much understand the situation you're in." I nod and he continues. "Good. Tell me what you know right now so I can fill you in on what you need to know."

I tell him about Claude, my parents, the restriction, and the Greens then Yata tells me what are Kings and Strains, and the Greens in more details. I then learn that Xavier, Haru, and Jun know what's going on so there's no need to hide anything from them. "Oh, and the boy's OK?" Yata adds.

Oh yeah, I almost forgot about him. "What happened to him?"

"The doctor told me it was an allergic attack. The edemas and swellings came out as a result of specific chemical objects effect, constricting his respiratory tract so the air could not pass. As a result of the dropping oxygen supply, the shock occurred and convulsing happened; and if you didn't call him...well, he would be dead," Yata explains.

"Ugh…sounds really bad…," I pale slightly at that. "Well, at least he made it. What about his mother? She should just call them herself if she was there, but she had to come here and got me to do it for her. Is she a mammoth of technology or what?" I couldn't help feeling a bit annoyed at that.

"He doesn't have a mother, at least not anymore. The doctor told me she died in a fire," Yata says as he looks back at his manga.

"Huh? But she was here. She came to me and asked for my help. That's why I was able to come to him in time," I say confused.

I then remember about the dream of me burning alive and the horrible face I saw after that. It hit me. That woman in my dream and the woman I helped are the same people. Wasn't that a coincidence? My eyes widen when I glance at the corner of the room and see the woman again, but now she's more in color. There are no black rings surrounding her eyes and her sight is more alive. Her skin is still pale, but it doesn't look sick anymore and she is smiling at him.

She opens her mouth and says "Thank you…" before her figure disappears in the glimmering light.

What the..."What about the other patients in that room? They saw the kid's dying and they didn't even help him!"

"There wasn't any other patients in that room except the kid."

Before I could open my mouth, I feel a shiver go down my spine and turn to the corner of my room again. At the same spot of that ghost woman was standing before are the same three guys with the same hollow eyes and sickening pale skins standing there, staring and smirking creepily at me. "By any chance, is my King's power the ability to see ghosts or am I just going crazy?"

Yata shrugs. "What do you think?"

I groan and lay back on my bed. So, I can see the dead, this is going to be interesting.


	6. Elliot Parker

Jun's POV

Next morning, I wake up to the news featuring the shooting and kidnapping from yesterday. I'm not surprised by the lack of information about the incident and the reporter announcing that the police has it under control. No mention of the Greens, HOMRA, or us. The work of the government. I turn off the TV and head to school. The hospital won't let Ren go until tomorrow just for safety so I'm in charge of getting her notes and homework.

I head to my locker and exchange my textbooks before shutting it. "Hey, Arai!" I turn to see two of my former teammates- Keita and Toshiro- from the judo club jogging towards me, their eyes shining with the news. Last year, I quit so I can focus on my studies and get into the University of Tokyo where only 10% get in. "Have you heard of the new transfer student?"

I shut my locker. "You mean, Xavier?"

Keita shakes his head, his wavy hair following the movement. "Not him. There's another one that just came in this morning. Apparently, he's Suzuki's cousin, though I don't see much of a resemblance besides the eye color. He's probably distant."

I frown. Most of Haru's relatives are living in Europe or America, and the only family Haru has living here is his parents. "What does he look like?"

"He's pretty short, skinny, and has red hair," Toshiro describes him.

I try to hide my surprise while I listen to them. After Keita and Toshiro left, saying they have to go back to their morning meeting, I hurry to the 2-B classroom since it's the only place Haru usually goes to catch up on homework or sleep or be left alone.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Yata stops midway eating a granola bar, looking up from his manga, while Haru turns away from the window to look at me. Yata is wearing the school uniform- well, almost, he doesn't have the tie and the top two buttons are undone, revealing a red T-shirt underneath. "Won't you be recognized? Also, aren't you under surveillance watch?"

Yata shoves the rest in his mouth, finishing his breakfast. "You seriously ask too many questions. I'm here to protect you guys from the Greens. No one will recognize me because I'm positive no one saw me since I stayed out of sight most of the time and I changed my name to 'Suzuki Rei.' Also, I told the police and Scepter 4 about the situation. They believed me and will be lenient on my actions while they try to take care of the Greens."

"So, you think the Greens will come here?"

"Not 100% sure, but since they saw your school uniform, they know where you guys attend so there's a possibility. Is that all?" Yata looks like he wants to go back to his manga.

"How old are you?"

Yata raises an eyebrow that says 'Really?' "Nineteen."

"Guess we have to respect our elder," Haru mumbles though both of us heard him and I crack a grin while Yata frowns, looking back his manga and mumbling something along the lines of 'I'm not that old.'

After school, Yata, Haru, Xavier, and I head to the hospital to pick up Ren; she texted me during the third period that she's being released since the doctors couldn't find anything serious, then we stop at the nearest convenience store to buy some cup ramens. Sitting on the edge of the sidewalk, we eat our dinner while Ren tells Haru, Xavier, and me about some guy named Claude, her parents, and Soulless.

"So, who's going to teach you how to use your powers?" Haru asks.

We all look at Yata. He is looking at the night sky and his finger is tapping on the side of the cup ramen. The tapping stops and he looks at us. "Give me three days. Suzuki-san, can I stay with you? You live by yourself, right?"

Haru nods and Yata goes back to looking at the night sky.

* * *

For three days, I carry out my normal life, going to school, and hanging out with my friends, the only difference is the constant wariness of my surroundings. I've been having a hard time sleeping, worried that someone from the Greens will break through my window and kidnap me. I shouldn't be because Yata told me they won't make a move for a while since Scepter 4 is tracking them down however I still can't shake off the feeling.

Finally, on a Saturday morning, Haru calls me, telling me to come to his house and I hurry over, meeting with Xavier, Ren, and Yata in-front of Haru's house, and one word pops in my mind: wow. Even though I have been here before, I still can't get over that Haru lives in a place like this. The wrought iron gates with an ornate leaf design open of their own accord, as if invisible hands push them along. The grass smells freshly cut, and is immaculate; drops of dew cling to the blades of grass like little-encrusted jewels. All around me is a garden made from traditional Japanese plants that look like it belongs in a travel brochure instead of this garden. A fountain gurgles merrily before me, water spraying from the always smiling cherubs' jars and pots.

As we approach the mansion, I notice it's made of polished white rock as it stands four stories tall, a grand balcony at the side, and the pillars across the front with the marble statues stand tall and mighty by the entrance. I can't seem to take my eyes from the brilliant details on them, but I force myself to look away as the front door opens, revealing Haru. Almost comically, he's wearing a v-neck and sweatpants instead of clothes most rich kids would wear. "Hey," Haru greets casually.

I glance over my shoulder to see the awe on Yata and Xavier's faces and let me tell you that it's priceless. "Are you some rich kid?" Yata asks.

"My dad is a famous musician and my mom is a famous model, so yeah."

Haru lets us in. Inside, I see the tallest ceiling ever and the interior is sparkling clean, with marble floors and beautiful paintings lining the walls. A grand staircase presents itself at the front entrance, reminiscent of the famous stairway within the grand Titanic, going up to the second floor. We walk by the stairs, towards the hall next to it, and ahead is a double-door. Haru pushes it open and different types of exotic scents hit me like a freight train as I blink away the black dots dancing in my vision from the blinding light. It's a greenhouse with exotic plants against the interiors and a miniature waterfall at the corner. Unlike many other greenhouses, it's surprisingly pleasant and cool, not hot and sticky.

In the center, there is a table with two couches, one on each side, and someone is already occupied in one, taking up the whole space, with his cheek resting against his palm, reading a book. He is wearing a V-neck sweater, nice grey jeans, and boots. He has stylish, blond hair and fair skin. A pair of glasses is perched on his nose, blue eyes behind them stare at the book he's reading.

He looks up from his book as we walk up to him, Haru closing the doors, and he smiles politely. "You must Akemi Ren, am I correct?" he asks, speaking Japanese fluently in an English accent. She nods and he stands, putting himself at six feet, tossing the book aside, and striking out his hand for a handshake. "My name is Elliot Parker, twenty-three years old, a graduate from Harvard. After graduating, I worked for your parents for a little bit before they passed away. By the way, please accept my condolence for them."

Ren forces a smile as she shakes Elliot's hand. "Thank you."

"You don't have to worry about the spirits? I already seal the premises so they won't come in." He smiles at us. "Yata already informed me about the situation so I'll get straight to the point. If I have to make a guess, the Greens will attack soon so we need to train you guys. Sounds good?"

We all nod.

"By the way, Elliot, what do you know about Greens?" Yata asks.

Elliot smiles weakly. "Not much. After Ren...er, sorry, Akemi-san's parents died, the Greens had tracked down members of Soulless to get to Ren, but then they suddenly stopped after a few months. So, some members and I kept an eye on the Greens, but they stayed inactive for the past two and half years until a month before you guys pulled that stunt last year when they became active again, going around and purchasing things."

"Like?"

"Weapons and drugs. So, from that, we assumed the Greens were planning an attack so we went to the base with some government back-ups, but instead…" Elliot trails off, slightly paling.

Yata frowns. "You found them dead?"

Elliot nods. "Slaughtered. We further investigated, but we got nothing so we labeled them dead and went back to our daily lives until I got your phone call."

Everyone is quiet, shocked at the new information.

"So, we have murderers on our tail, is what you're saying?" Ren asks.

"Assassins, actually."

"That makes it worse," Xavier grumbles. "We can't back out, right?"

"Well, now that you have seen them, they're probably not going to let you live." Elliot scans each of our expression. "I'll leave you guys alone for awhile to let it sink in."

After ten minutes, Elliot comes back and leads us to a work-out gym that's located next to the kitchen, where a hallway opens up. Straight ahead is a door to the gym with the proper equipment needed; weights, punching bags, a mini running track, and exercise equipment. Yata sits against the wall to observe us from a distance while the rest of us stands in the middle of the room. Elliot gives out our menus that we need to complete by today; Haru will teaching Ren basic martial arts while I train with him since I already know some basic moves.

Tossing the folder aside, Elliot and I stand in the middle of the room. Before I could set myself into a fighting stance, Elliot and I are already exchanging blows. He's the one giving most of the blows while I block them (I'm glad that I took some martial arts classes in the past to develop some decent fighting skills) and at the same time I try to learn as much I could about his fighting style however he seems to notice that and decides to fix that by dropping down and sweeps me. Caught by surprise, I fall on my back and groan as pain explodes on my back.

Still laying on the ground, I look up to see Elliot staring me down with a smirk on his face and I feel my anger boil a little. He isn't taking me seriously. I jump to my feet and at that moment Elliot charges at me, throwing a punch. I dodge and let out a roundhouse kick to his face. He steps back to avoid the blow, but I keep going, attacking him. Finally, he dodges a punch I throw then takes a hold of my wrist with his free hand.

Crap! Before I know it, I'm thrown over his shoulder. For one second, I feel light before I come crashing on the ground in pain. I stay laying on the floor, groaning in pain as black dots dance in my vision.

"Are you done yet?" Elliot smirks.

I frown and climb to my feet again. "Not even close."


	7. Ren's Familiar

Ren's POV

"What's the score? Five to zero, me dominating?" Xavier asks then catches an incoming water bottle that's aimed at his face. Jun glares and Xavier brushes it off, tossing the water bottle into the nearest trashcan.

For the past week, after school, Jun has been switched over to Xavier as sparring partners, I train with Elliot on my King's power, and Yata teaches Haru more advanced self-defense. So far, I've made pretty good progress on my powers even though only a bit of them are released. I can now turn my ability on and off so I can ignore the ghosts and kind of communicate with the ghosts. Before, I couldn't because 'I have too weak of a connection,' quoted by Elliot, which is due to the restriction, but now I have a little of powers released I can somewhat communicate with them.

Right now, Xavier, Jun, and I are heading home after today's training. My stomach growls and I sigh. It's late and I haven't eaten since lunchtime, and it's 8:43 p.m. right now. "Ah, I'm so hungry."

"Same here. Wanna eat here?"

Xavier points at a bar and grill, and Jun and I agree. We sign in at the desk and wait for fifteen minutes before we got our table. A short, pretty waitress walks up to our table, ready to take our order. As she's taking orders, she tries flirting with Xavier, but he ignores her and she drops it. After each of us has ordered, she comes back with our drinks and leaves again.

"Hey, can I ask you some questions?" I ask and Xavier nods. "How much do you know about this King's business stuff?"

"The Second King is my grandfather so I grew up knowing about the Kings, Strains, and the conflict between the clans."

"So, is that why you know about HOMRA's missing king?"

Xavier nods. "My grandfather had told me about the HOMRA's situation and what he knows about Mikoto Suoh then he asked me to meet up with HOMRA so I could pass the information to Yata. I'm pretty much playing as the middleman."

"Is that the real reason why you moved here?" I ask.

"Pretty much."

"Couldn't he just email the information to Yata instead of sending you?"

"He's taking precaution just in case someone tries to hack into our system and get hold of the information." Makes sense. "What else do you want to know?"

"What exactly happened at our high school?" Jun asks.

Xavier takes a sip of his Diet Coke before he leans forward, resting his arms on the table. This must be a long one. "When HOMRA still had their King, Mikoto Suoh, they took over the school because they were searching for a kid, Isana Yashiro, who was responsible for one of their members' death at that time, Totsuka Tatara. Of course, Scepter 4 came and tried to run them out of the school and they had a huge fight. However, it turned out that Isana wasn't same kid that killed their member. Apparently, he was ejected from his original body by the former Seventh King- the one before you- and had since inhabited the body of a teenage boy, where after becoming amnesiac, with a new identity, Isana Yashiro. In the end, the Seventh King was killed along with Yashiro and Mikoto, who sacrificed themselves."

A flash of an image of a boy with white hair and big, amber eyes pop into my mind. In the picture the HOMRA had sent to everyone via students' PDAs, he had a carefree smile and his posture was relaxed. He had the face that screams innocence and naive so it was hard to believe he was a killer.

Xavier continues. "According to Scepter 4, Mikoto and Isana suddenly disappeared literally, their bodies nowhere to be found. This is where I come in. My grandfather has found out some information about the missing kings and said that the Greens have the two bodies, but their spirits have been split up from their bodies. So, I'm guessing that's why they want Ren to get her to locate their spirits."

"So, you knew why the Greens want her," Jun frowns, trying to hide the irritation. "Why didn't you tell us at the beginning?"

Xavier hesitates, but still keeping a poker face. "Remember, what I said about learning the conflict between clans. The history between my grandfather's clan and HOMRA isn't pretty and I grew up with my grandfather's ideologies hammered into me every day so I can't really bring myself to trust the HOMRA, just yet at least."

Jun doesn't seem satisfied, but nods. I then frown, remembering one thing has been bothering me. "Why were the Greens slaughtered? Who are the new Greens?"

Xavier shrugs, taking another sip of his drink. "Don't know. It has been bugging me too."

Finally, our orders come in and we spend the rest of the time eating and making small talks about other things. After we finish, we split the bill and leave three dollars as a tip, heading the entrance.

I stop for a second to check my bag, making sure I have everything. Then, there's a loud boom, shaking the building a little, and loud exclamations. I spin around to see a black truck has rammed into the building, crushing the table that Xavier, Jun, and I were sitting only ten seconds ago underneath its weight. I look around to see several people lying around, hurt from the debris of the wall falling on top of them.

One worker, a man with a pot-belly stomach, walks up to the van and looks into the driver's window. "Holy shit, there's no one in here!"

People take out their phones to call the police and ambulance, take pictures, or tell their friends about what just has happened. I walk over to the truck to get a closer look. Right as I walk up, small letters appear on the door, small enough for only me to see, and I feel a chill down my spine when I finish reading it.

 _Second Warning_

* * *

"The first warning is probably when they first tried to kidnap Ren," Elliot says, taking a sip of his coffee.

Next day, during lunch, I tell Yata and Haru what happened last night. After school, we all, except Haru, who has to do something and will catch up later, head to Haru's mansion and I re-tell the whole story to Elliot which takes us to right now.

"The Greens are getting aggressive with their actions," Yata comments, not really directing to anyone or expecting a reply back. "I thought they would hold back for another few days after kidnapping Ren."

"I guess they got tired of waiting," Elliot mumbles with his arms across his chest, his right fingers drumming on his left arm, his eyebrows draw together. The drumming stops then he looks at me with an idea in mind. "How much did Claude said he would release your power?" (I told him about Claude when we first start working on my power.)

I shrug. "He didn't really specify. He just told me that he could release a little bit of it."

Elliot hums then, moments later, he puts his coffee down. "Follow me." He grabs a couple of pieces of papers and a pen then takes us to the training room, leading me to the center of the room. He squats down, placing one piece of paper in front of him, and begins writing symbols on it in a circular formation.

"What are you doing?" Xavier asks as he leans down to take a closer look.

"I'm going to give her a familiar," Elliot says, finishing up the last symbol. "The Seventh Kings are known for their Spiritual powers. Unlike HOMRA, who has a defined color for their aura, the Seventh clan doesn't, which hence the name Colorless- which got changed from Soulless by the previous king- so their spiritual abilities vary to each person. In her case, she can see ghosts, but her parents had that ability and can also make contracts with stronger ghosts aka Ayakashi to use them as soldiers. So, I'm making a safe bet that you can also do that too."

"What about my restriction?"

"I'm contacting a weak Ayakashi so it shouldn't use up too much of your power. When I mean by weak, I mean by their ability standard, all Ayakashi are great fighters so they should be useful in protecting you. Ok, here. You just need to rip it."

He hands me the paper and I raise an eyebrow. "That's it?"

Elliot nods. I look at the paper, hesitating because I have a bad feeling before I rip the paper. I'm right about my bad feeling. After I rip the paper, the symbols immediately circle around my left wrist. I feel a stinging sensation like a shot as they push themselves into my skin.

"What the hell is this?" I look at the wrist, decorated like a bracelet-like tattoo.

"A contract. There should be a human-looking character. Press it."

I turn my wrist over, finding it, and I press it and the symbols glow again. The symbol peels off from my skin and transforms into a curtain, a few feet away from us. A moment later, a hand reaches from behind and pulls the curtain aside, revealing a familiar young man with slightly tan skin, red hair, and a green eye, the other eye is covered by an eyepatch. He has a bunch of jewelry on him; a piercing on his left ear, three bracelets from the Rothem Collection around his left wrist, and a silver ring on a chain around his neck. He's wearing a black V-neck, a pair of beige pants, and flip-flops.

The young man brings himself out from behind the curtain and it disappears. He looks around, scratching the back of his head, then his gaze lands and he smirks. "Nice to see you again."

My eyes widen. "Claude?" He lets out a small grin and Jun mumbles 'So, this is him?' I do a quick scan and I don't find anything demon-like about him besides that he can change into different clothes. Where do they come from? I mean, there wasn't a closet in my aura. He just looks like a normal human, if you ignore the eyepatch. "So, what can you do?"

He simply shrugs. "I don't know." Great.

After a quick introduction, Elliot and I quickly jump into training on how to use a familiar which turns out not to be hard. When you have summoned a familiar, you can use the other symbols. Each symbol on the wrist gives you different techniques, but there's a limit: once you switch symbols, then you can't use the previous symbols for a period of time. However, because of the restriction, I can only use half of the symbols: strength, speed, and defense. I wonder if we will find someone who can take the restriction out.

After two hours of testing out my new ability, Elliot lets me take a break and Claude goes back to where he came from. Taking gulps from my water bottle, I see Yata watching and pointing out flaws in Xavier and Jun's fight. I frown when I don't see Haru anywhere. Right when I'm about to ask Elliot about Haru when my cell-phones buzz.

I reach into my pocket, pulling it out and typing in the password for the lock screen. It's a text from Haru. I read the text then again and again before I shoot up and sprint out of the door, ignoring the calls of my name.

To: Ren

From: Haru

 **Help. Sunset Park. The Greens are here.**


End file.
